330GT coupe by Drogo: another too-ugly-to-love car | FerrariChat
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330GT coupe by Drogo: another too-ugly-to-love car

Discussion in 'Vintage (thru 365 GTC4)' started by bitzman, Jan 2, 2014.

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  1. bitzman

    bitzman F1 Rookie
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    #1 bitzman, Jan 2, 2014
    When I saw this car at Concorso 2013 I thought it was a barris custom because it was gold and he did all his own cars in gold. This site shows a model of it (not very detailed)
    Ferrari 330 GT Drogo 7979GT 1969 The Golden Car (Ilario 43020g)
    Two questions: did it have to be sold dirt cheap at one time because of its styling?
    -Was it sent to Drogo by Ferrari for a customer or a rebuild to a customer's whim?

    Over in 400 section I also discuss the ugly but better crafted Michelotti 400i that cost a million to build.

    I like that too-ugly-to-love subject
     
  2. Julius H.

    Julius H. Formula Junior

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    #2 Julius H., Jan 2, 2014
  3. kerrari

    kerrari Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #3 kerrari, Jan 2, 2014
    I struggle to comprehend the design mind that thinks that's an 'improvement' on a standard 330...
     
  4. Glassman

    Glassman F1 World Champ
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    #4 Glassman, Jan 2, 2014
    Well it is one of a kind. If it didn't cost very much I'd have it in my garage.
     
  5. peterp

    peterp F1 Veteran

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    #5 peterp, Jan 2, 2014
    +1 - beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it's hard to find a way to like this. The history is here: SN 7979 Detail
     
  6. MRG22

    MRG22 Formula Junior

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    #6 MRG22, Jan 2, 2014
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  7. bitzman

    bitzman F1 Rookie
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    #7 bitzman, Jan 31, 2014
    More period pictures here: COACHBUILD.com

    Or is it a case where the stock Pininfarina body was taken off and this body put on?
    Daniel Vaughn wrote about the car in 2010 saying "Ferrari 330GT 2+2 'Navarro' wears a unique body created by Drogo and was commissioned by Italian night club owner Norbert Navarro in 1967. Navarro was the owner of the Signor Norbert Navarro night club. He wanted a Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 but was not satisfied with their styling. So he commissioned Pierro Drogo to create a one-off custom body for the 330. Significant changes were made the vehicle's original design especially to the front and rear sections. It has a much more angular and sharper appearance with narrow fins flowing from the rear of the car to the roof."
    To me there's a big differance in value between a car rebodied by an outside firm (Drogo was "approved" when doing race cars but a lot of their subsequent Ferrari re-bodies weren't submitted to Ferrari for approval) vis-a-vis the coachbuilder assigned to do the cars. For instance the 365GTC that has the wraparound Dino style rear window and sail panels is one done by Ferrari's choice of coachbuidler for the whole seeries of 330GTC and 365GTC coupes so I would think it would be worth more than the Drogo 330GT. I'm curious what's the lowest the Drogo Navarro special ever sold for?

    PS Though there is a famous Navarro in American racing, that Navarro (Barney) was a race car engineer, probably not relatred to the nightclub owner.
     
  8. MRG22

    MRG22 Formula Junior

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    #8 MRG22, Jan 31, 2014
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  9. tx246

    tx246 F1 Veteran
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    #9 tx246, Jun 7, 2014
    7979GT has just been consigned by Gooding and Co.
     
  10. wax

    wax Five Time F1 World Champ
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    #10 wax, Jun 8, 2014
    I gazed at it the-opposite-of-longingly in L.A. quite a few times.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  11. Flash G

    Flash G Three Time F1 World Champ
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    #11 Flash G, Jun 8, 2014
    Would be a great boat.
     
  12. peterp

    peterp F1 Veteran

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    #12 peterp, Jul 7, 2014
  13. superleggera

    superleggera Karting

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    #13 superleggera, Jul 7, 2014
    The bare metalwork (only) on this was restored at Dennison International a few years ago. Once the red paint and giant chunks of bondo was stripped, what was left was a horrific nightmare -- giant holes from rust, structural issues and lots of brazed goobered panels that made ones jaw drop due to how bad subsequent amateur repairs were. Butch and his crew did a fantastic job though repairing and replacing all the damaged panels and the metalwork is done properly and probably way better than it was done originally.

    Two pictures:

    Open house to a BMW club one Saturday (Drogo was there and almost finished after a LOT of work to make it right) --> http://marksavory.com/forumposts/openHouse.jpg

    Most of the Drogo looked like this when first stripped (or even worse) --> http://marksavory.com/forumposts/holes.jpg
     
  14. MRG22

    MRG22 Formula Junior

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    #14 MRG22, Jul 7, 2014
    Nice photos.
     
  15. 180 Out

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    #15 180 Out, Jul 7, 2014
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  16. wax

    wax Five Time F1 World Champ
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    #16 wax, Jul 7, 2014
    Believe it or not . . .

    It looked worse when it was "resale red".


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  17. bitzman

    bitzman F1 Rookie
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    #17 bitzman, Jul 17, 2014
    Gooding estimaes $00K to $600K which I think is way too much considering how ugly it is compared to other prototype one offs of the time. Autoweek has a story on this by Jay Ramey.
    The other question is: how much would it cost to convert it back to a stock looking 330? I am guessing $250,000 which would not make it a good buy at all.
    Still, beauty is in the eye of the beholder....
     
  18. michael platzer

    michael platzer F1 Veteran

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    #18 michael platzer, Jul 18, 2014
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    why convert it back? it wont become original again!
    the car has history and is unique in every aspect.
    sure its ugly but its fascinating when you see it on the road.
    it was one of the most spectacular Ferrari in this years Cavallino Classic.
    spectators loved the car (and it was the favourite of my 5 years old daughter - kids never lie!)
    back in the days when it was red i was seriously thinking of buying it to own the ugliest Ferrari. the car was really cheap then, about 60.000,--$ if i remember correctly.
    i spoke with the owner at cavallino and he told me that he spent about 250.000,-- in restoration. i am sure it will be much more, when its at auction.
    today i really regret having missed the chance to buy then.

    the perfect car for a princess - isnt it?
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  19. michael platzer

    michael platzer F1 Veteran

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    #19 michael platzer, Jul 18, 2014
    interesting pics! are there more pics of the restoration?
     

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